The Case for Designing a Room With No Practical Purpose

Somewhere along the way, we decided every square foot of our homes needed to earn its keep.

The spare bedroom needs to double as an office. The dining room needs hidden storage. The extra sitting room needs a desk tucked into the corner. Every space needs a function—and preferably two or three.

But what if it doesn’t?

What if one of the greatest luxuries in a home is having a room that exists simply because you enjoy being in it?

That was exactly the idea behind this space.

At first, we designated this space for a nice office, but after giving it some thought, the client decided she wanted a room where she could enjoy her friends and family in a room that felt like a boutique, hotel bar.

It Was Supposed to Be an Office

On paper, this room made perfect sense as a home office.

But our client didn’t need another place to work. She wanted a place to close the curtains, pour a glass of wine, call the ladies over and stay awhile.

So instead of designing the office she was supposed to have, we created the room she actually wanted: a moody little lounge bar tucked inside her home.

No desk. No filing cabinets. No attempt to make the room “multipurpose.”

Just a beautiful room designed for conversation, entertaining and enjoyment.

And that was the entire point.

We Don’t Have to Optimize Everything

We talk constantly about making our homes more functional. And as designers, function is incredibly important to us.

But I think we’ve started confusing function with optimization.

A home isn’t a machine where every inch has to produce something.

Sometimes a room can be successful because it makes you want to invite your friends over. Because it’s where you end up talking for three hours. Because you look forward to sitting there at the end of the week.

Those things might not show up on a floor plan, but they absolutely affect the way you experience your home.

Designing for a Feeling

Once we stopped thinking of this room as an office, the design became much more interesting.

We wanted it to feel intimate, layered and a little unexpected—almost like discovering a tiny private bar inside the house.

We embraced the darker, moodier atmosphere instead of trying to brighten everything. Rich walls envelop the room, velvet chairs invite you to settle in, and dramatic lighting gives the space that warm glow that immediately changes the mood when you walk in.

The contemporary artwork brings an unexpected edge and keeps the room from feeling too serious or traditional.

And then, of course, there’s the bar.

Everything about the room says: stay awhile.

That’s a very different design objective than “make this room useful.”

Maybe Enjoyment Is the Function

I think that’s the real argument for rooms like this.

They aren’t actually without purpose. Their purpose just isn’t productivity.

Maybe the room where you drink coffee every morning deserves as much consideration as your kitchen.

Maybe the room where your friends pile in on Friday night is just as valuable as another guest bedroom.

Maybe creating a beautiful place to read, listen to music, play cards, have a cocktail or do absolutely nothing is a perfectly legitimate use of square footage.

For busy people especially, there is something incredibly luxurious about designing part of your home around slowing down.

Look at the Rooms You’re Not Using

Most homes have at least one.

The formal dining room you walk through but rarely eat in. The office that’s mostly collecting packages. The sitting room with beautiful furniture that nobody actually sits on.

Instead of asking how you can make that room more useful, try asking a different question:

What would make me want to be in here?

Maybe it’s a library.

Maybe it’s a listening room.

Maybe it’s a card room, a coffee room or a ladies’ lounge.

Maybe it’s a tiny speakeasy where you close the curtains, open a bottle of wine and forget about leaving the house altogether.

The answer doesn’t have to make sense to anyone else.

Because ultimately, the best homes aren’t designed around what we’re supposed to have.

They’re designed around how we actually want to live.

Love,

Lindsay